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Man with violent past denied blue card on appeal

Bridie Jabour

A man with a 19-year-long criminal history has lost his appeal against a decision to deny him a blue card.

The man, known as GD in a Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) judgment, had argued that he had stopped drinking ‘‘heavy beer’’ and was managing his anger.

The tribunal upheld a decision by the Commissioner for Children and Young People and Child Guardian to reject the man's blue card application.

In ‘‘exceptional’’ cases blue cards - which Australians must hold if they work with children - are granted to people with convictions from an Australian court, but the tribunal in Cairns found the man did not meet the exception criteria.

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According to the judgment, GD is seen an elder of the Aboriginal community. He suffers from depression but is working to turn his life around after more than a decade of alcohol-fuelled violence.

His community was described by a psychologist as ‘‘traumatised’’, with an unemployment rate of 84 per cent and roughly half of the community affected by alcohol dependency.

GD admitted that he had seen some of his own worst behaviour in his eldest son, who hit his live-in girlfriend.

‘‘He sees himself in the action of his son striking this girl,’’ the judgment said.

‘‘He has told his son that he has learnt from his experiences that he needs to tell boys don't hit your partner.

‘‘He acknowledges that he has done this in the past and now accepts it is wrong.

‘‘He wishes now that he never drank heavy beer and had not acted out in the way he did when drunk.’’

GD now drinks light beer when he wants to drink alcohol and has developed a strong Christian faith.

Psychologist Peter Barrett works with the man and said GD provides mental health support for about 50 people.

‘‘His life experiences are invaluable to traumatised indigenous people who can see him as a fellow sufferer as a role model,’’ Mr Barrett said.

‘‘He is invaluable in establishing trust with the people he works with.’’

GD applied for the blue card on April 24, 2010 and was denied by the Commissioner for Children and Young People and Child Guardian a year later.

GD lodged an appeal a few days later but that was rejected by QCAT in a judgment handed down last month.

The judgment said GD’s criminal history was one and half pages long, beginning in 1990 with hindering police and ending in 2009 with a charge of smuggling alcohol into a restricted area.

His more serious charges include assaulting his partner numerous times and assaulting police.

His last violent incident was three years ago when he slapped his de facto partner in the face.

The judgment noted that police were called on GD numerous times between 1994 and 2008 for assaulting his wife, with one of the fights drawing a crowd of people from the community.

‘‘He stopped drinking heavy beer around 2008 and has seen many positive changes in his life since he had done so,’’ the judgment said.

‘‘He has learnt from the trouble that he has experienced over the last 10 years to moderate his drinking and deal with his depression in other ways.’’

GD was praised for his efforts at turning his life around but it was deemed too much of a risk to grant him a blue card to work with children.

‘‘GD is a man according to Peter Barrett who on his own admission has caused his family to withdraw and become scared of him,’’ the judgment said.

‘‘He is a man who smashed a chair over his sister.

‘‘In addition, GD provided accounts of how family members would find reasons to leave home to avoid confrontation and exposure to abuse when GD became intoxicated.

‘‘GD realises that his children have been exposed to domestic violence.’’

The tribunal was also concerned by the lack of community members coming forward to support GD, and noted that he did not provide any witnesses from his violent past who would attest that he had changed.

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